A sphincterotome is a medical device that is used to perform a sphincterotomy, a medical procedure in which a sphincter muscle, such as the sphincter of Oddi, is cut. By cutting the sphincter muscle, the constrictive nature of the muscle is relieved, which allows other medical devices to pass through the sphincter muscle and into another area of the patient to perform various medical procedures. For example, when the sphinter of Oddi is cut, medical devices may pass through the duodenal papilla and enter into the biliary tree and perform one or more medical procedures, such as removal of bile duct stones from the biliary tree.
The sphincterotome includes a cutting wire that is used to cut the sphincter muscle. When the sphincter muscle is cut using the cutting wire, the constrictive nature of the sphincter muscle is relieved. However, some tension around the sphincter muscle still exists, which may cause the distribution of the tension around the sphincter muscle to be uneven or change as the muscle is being cut. The uneven distribution of tension may cause instability in the position of the cutting wire. For example, while cutting, the uneven distribution of tension may force the cutting wire away from a desired cutting position.